The 1996 Strike: Picket Handout

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The musicians of the Atlanta Symphony have been on strike since Friday, September 20. As a gesture of goodwill to our patrons, we performed the concerts on Sept. 20 and 21. We have been performing without a contract since August 24, but numerous meetings with Symphony management have failed to resolve our differences.

At a meeting with the Players' Committee on Friday, September 20, management insisted on the ability to downsize the orchestra unless the musicians agreed to a one-year salary freeze with a wage reopener and no guarantees. In addition, management summarily rejected without discussion the musicians' substantially reduced economic proposal of 5% in each of the three years of the contract.

The Atlanta Symphony is widely recognized as one of the top ten orchestras in the country, while its wage scale is ranked at 17th. Without a competitive pay scale or a guaranteed minimum number of players , the symphony will be unable to attract the best possible musicians and will lose its major orchestra status.

In addition to economic issues, the Players' Committee has proposed several working condition clauses that would increase morale within the orchestra, create a more interesting experience for the audience, improve the performance of the orchestra, and attract high quality musicians to the orchestra, while at the same time incurring no additional cost to the management. Management has refused to accept any of these proposals.

Please call Allison Vulgamore, President of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, at 404- 733-4906 to voice your support of our position. We hope to see you in Symphony Hall soon. Thank you.

• Various Press Releases
• ASOPA Position Statement
• Picket Handout
• Musicians' Response to Management's Q&A
• Historical Strike Documents
• What Atlanta is Saying About the ASO/City Council Resolution
• What the World is Saying About the ASO
• Strike Concerts